Buenos Aires, May 1. The minimum wage in Argentina fell 2.7% in real terms in 2022, the equivalent of 3.1 days of work, according to an Oxfam Intermón report published this Monday.
The minimum wage in Argentina -which is determined by government resolution, after a tripartite agreement with the unions and the business sector- increased 81% in 2022, from 32,000 (about 145 dollars at the current official exchange rate) to 57,900 pesos (about 263 dollars), falling behind the inflation of 94.8% last year.
Despite the fact that Argentina has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, the non-governmental organization warned that wages had a lower real loss than the rest of the globe, 3.2%.
One billion workers in 50 countries have suffered an average pay cut of $685 in 2022, a combined loss of $746 billion in real terms, compared to what they would have earned if wages had grown at the same rate as inflation, as analyzed by Oxfam Intermón, based on data from the International Labor Organization and government statistical agencies.
In Argentina, the general level of wages had a real loss of 2.2% in 2022, an average that hides a contraction of 15.1% in unregistered wages, a fall of less than 0.5% in the registered private sector and a real recovery of 2.4% in the public sector, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec).
While most people work longer for less money and cannot face the increase in the cost of living -in Argentina poverty rose to 39.2% in 2022-, Oxfam Intermón denounces that the dividends of the shareholders at reached a record $1.56 trillion in 2022, a real increase of 10% compared to 2021, benefiting the richest in society and widening inequality.
In its report, Oxfam Intermón calls for a permanent increase in the tax burden on those who earn the most and to ensure the recovery of the purchasing power of wages. EFE
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